Shoaib Akhtar requests Mohammad Amir to come out of Test retirement

In a recent development, premier Pakistan fast bowler, Mohammad Amir, who was part of their World Cup team, announced his retirement from the longest form of the game, Test cricket to completely focus on One Day Internationals and T20Is.

The speedster surprised and shocked cricket experts and fans when he decided to quit red-ball cricket in favour of white-ball cricket just as the ICC Test Championship was going to start. One former Pakistan cricketer and fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar is certainly not amused by the decision taken by Amir to quit Test Cricket at the age of 27.

“Amir should reconsider his decision to come out of retirement and play for Pakistan because the country needs him. I believe that you can only become a legend by performing for your country as nobody remembers performance in county cricket,” said Akhtar in a video message on YouTube.

Shoaib Akhtar is right in his opinion. With the ICC Test Championship, it becomes even more important for senior players like Amir to step up and accept the challenge and help Pakistan perform well.

Test Cricket is clearly not the priority in modern times

Rawalpindi Express’ comment and frustration on the retirement of such a fine fast bowler comes after he played his last first-class game for Essex and finished with figures of 6-64 to help his team beat Kent. Akhtar said that he should put on similar performances for his country as well.

Former Pakistan cricketers expressed their disappointment at Amir’s decision, saying that such a decision could set a bad example. “Mohammad Amir retirement could be followed by Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz and Junaid Khan’s retirement. I don’t understand what is happening with the Pakistan team,” said Akhtar.

It is indeed a big challenge facing the cricketing boards across the globe. Take West Indies for example. They have the resources to challenge the best in the world, but owing to contractual issues between the players and WICB, many frontline players opted to represent franchise teams instead of their country.

Unless the system doesn’t change, one can’t avoid such incidents from happening. Every cricketer has to think about his wellness and career too, so if playing and representing your country in Test cricket isn’t exciting enough then that something must be done about it. Otherwise, the best talents in current times will be missing from Test cricket very soon.

Watch the video: